Motion vector derivation method, moving picture coding method and moving picture decoding method

ABSTRACT

A motion vector derivation unit includes a comparison unit for comparing a parameter TR 1  for a reference vector with a predetermined value to determine whether it exceeds the predetermined value or not; a switching unit for switching selection between the maximum value of a pre-stored parameter TR and the parameter TR 1  according to the comparison result by the comparison unit; a multiplier parameter table (for multipliers); and a multiplier parameter table (for divisors) for associating the parameter TR 1  with a value approximate to the inverse value (1/TR 1 ) of this parameter TR 1.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/475,655,which is the National Stage of International Application No.PCT/JP03/05418, filed Apr. 28, 2003.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a motion vector derivation method forderiving a motion vector indicating motion of each block betweenpictures, a moving picture coding method for coding a moving picture byinter picture prediction coding involving motion compensation using thederived motion vector, and a moving picture decoding method.

BACKGROUND ART

With the development of multimedia applications, it has become common inrecent years to handle information of all sorts of media such as audio,video and text in an integrated manner. In doing so, it becomes possibleto handle media integrally by digitalizing all the media. However, sincedigitalized images have an enormous amount of data, informationcompression techniques are of absolute necessity for their storage andtransmission. On the other hand, in order to interoperate compressedimage data, standardization of compression techniques is also important.Standards on image compression techniques include H. 261 and H. 263recommended by ITU-T (International Telecommunication UnionTelecommunication Standardization Sector), and MPEG (Moving PictureExperts Group)-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 of ISO (International Organizationfor Standardization).

Inter picture prediction involving motion compensation is a techniquecommon to these moving picture coding methods. For motion compensationin these moving picture coding methods, each of pictures constituting aninputted moving picture is divided into rectangles (blocks) of apredetermined size, and a predictive image which is to be referred tofor coding and decoding is generated based on a motion vector indicatingmotion of each block between pictures.

A motion vector is estimated for each block or each area that is adivision of a block. A previously coded picture which is located forwardor backward in display order of a current picture to be coded is to be areference picture (hereinafter referred to as a forward referencepicture or a backward reference picture). In motion estimation, a block(an area) in a reference picture for predicting a current block to becoded most appropriately is selected from the blocks in the referencepicture, and the relative location of the selected block to the currentblock is to be the best motion vector. At the same time, a predictionmode, that is, the information specifying a prediction method for makingthe most appropriate prediction using pictures which can be referred to,is determined.

One of such prediction modes is direct mode, for example, in which interpicture prediction coding is performed with reference to temporallyforward and backward pictures in display order (See, for example,ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T VCEG Working Draft Number 2, Revision 2 2002 Mar.15 P. 64 7.4.2 Motion vectors in direct mode). In direct mode, a motionvector is not coded explicitly as data to be coded, but derived from apreviously coded motion vector. To be more specific, a motion vector ofa current block in a current picture to be coded is calculated withreference to a motion vector of a block (reference block) which islocated at the same coordinate (spatial position) in a previously codedpicture in the neighborhood of the current picture as that of thecurrent block in the current picture. Then, a predictive image (motioncompensation data) is generated based on this calculated motion vector.Note that when decoding, a motion vector is derived in direct mode basedon a previously decoded motion vector in the same manner.

Calculation of a motion vector in direct mode will be explained belowmore specifically. FIG. 1 is an illustration of motion vectors in directmode. In FIG. 1, a picture 1200, a picture 1201, a picture 1202 and apicture 1203 are located in display order. The picture 1202 is a currentpicture to be coded, and a block MB1 is a current block to be coded.FIG. 1 shows the case where multiple inter picture prediction isperformed for the block MB1 in the picture 1202 using the pictures 1200and 1203 as reference pictures. In order to simplify the followingexplanation, it is assumed that the picture 1203 is located backward ofthe picture 1202 and the picture 1200 is located forward of the picture1202, but these pictures 1200 and 1203 do not always need to be locatedin this order.

The picture 1203 that is a backward reference picture for the picture1202 has a motion vector which refers to the forward picture 1200. So,motion vectors of the current block MB1 are determined using a motionvector MV1 of a reference block MB2 in the picture 1202 located backwardof the current picture 1202. Two motion vectors MVf and MVb arecalculated by

MVf=MV1×TRf/TR1  Equation 1(a)

MVb=MV1×TRb/TR1  Equation 1(b)

where MVf is the forward motion vector of the current block MB1, MVb isthe backward motion vector of the current block MB1, TR1 is thedifference in time information between the picture 1200 and the picture1203 (difference in time information between the picture having themotion vector MV1 and the reference picture pointed by MV1), TRf is thedifference in time information between the picture 1200 and the picture1202 (difference in time information between the picture having themotion vector MVf and the reference picture pointed by MVf), and TRb isthe difference in time information between the picture 1202 and thepicture 1203 (difference in time information between the picture havingthe motion vector MVb and the reference picture pointed by MVb). Notethat TR1, TRf and TRb are not limited to a difference in timeinformation between pictures, but may be index data (data included in astream explicitly or implicitly or data associated with a stream)indicating a temporal distance between pictures in display order so asto be used for scaling motion vectors, such as data obtained using adifference in picture numbers assigned to respective pictures, dataobtained using a difference in picture display order (or informationindicating picture display order) and data obtained using the number ofpictures between pictures.

Next, a flow of processing for deriving motion vectors will beexplained. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing forderiving motion vectors. First, information on the motion vector of thereference block MB2 is obtained (Step S1301). In the example as shown inFIG. 1, information on the motion vector MV1 is obtained. Next,parameters for deriving motion vectors of the current block MB1 areobtained (Step S1302). The parameters for deriving the motion vectors ofthe current block MB1 are scaling coefficient data used for scaling themotion vector obtained in Step S1301. More specifically, the parameterscorrespond to TR1, TRf and TRb in Equation 1(a) and Equation 1(b). Next,the motion vector obtained in Step S1301 is scaled by multiplication anddivision in Equation 1(a) and Equation 1(b) using these parameters so asto derive the motion vectors MVf and MVb of the current block MB1 (StepS1303).

As shown in abovementioned Equation 1(a) and Equation 1(b), division isrequired for deriving motion vectors. However, as the first problem,division takes more time for calculation than calculation such asaddition and multiplication. It is not preferable for a device such as amobile phone requiring lower power consumption because a calculator withlower capability is used in such a device to meet a requirement forlower power consumption.

Under these circumstances, it is conceived to derive motion vectors bymultiplication with reference to multiplier parameters corresponding todivisors in order to avoid division. This allows calculation bymultiplication with a smaller amount of calculation instead of division,and thus processing for scaling can be simplified.

However, as the second problem, since various values are applied toparameters for deriving motion vectors depending on distances betweenreference pictures and a picture including a current block, theparameters can have a wide range of values. An enormous number ofparameters must be prepared for multiplier parameters corresponding toall the divisors, and thus large memory capacity is required.

So, in order to solve these first and second problems, the object of thepresent invention is to provide a motion vector derivation method, amoving picture coding method and a moving picture decoding method forderiving motion vectors with a smaller amount of calculation.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In order to achieve above object, the motion vector derivation methodaccording to the present invention is a motion vector derivation methodfor deriving a motion vector of a block in a picture, comprising: areference motion vector obtaining step of obtaining a reference motionvector for deriving a motion vector of a current block; a firstparameter obtaining step of obtaining a first parameter corresponding toa distance between a picture which has the reference motion vector and apicture which is referred to by the reference motion vector; a secondparameter obtaining step of obtaining at least a single second parametercorresponding to a distance between a picture which includes the currentblock and a picture which is referred to by the current block; ajudgment step of judging whether the first parameter is a value within apredetermined range or not; and a motion vector derivation step ofderiving the motion vector of the current block (1) by scaling thereference motion vector based on a predetermined value and the secondparameter when the first parameter is not the value within thepredetermined range as a result of the judgment in the judgment step,and (2) by scaling the reference motion vector based on the firstparameter and the second parameter when the first parameter is the valuewithin the predetermined range as a result of said judgment.

Also, the motion vector derivation method according to the presentinvention is a motion vector derivation method for deriving a motionvector of a block in a picture, comprising: a reference motion vectorobtaining step of obtaining a reference motion vector for deriving amotion vector of a current block; a first parameter obtaining step ofobtaining a first parameter corresponding to a distance between apicture which has the reference motion vector and a picture which isreferred to by the reference motion vector; a second parameter obtainingstep of obtaining at least a single second parameter corresponding to adistance between a picture which includes the current block and apicture which is referred to by the current block; a judgment step ofjudging whether the first parameter is a first predetermined value orlarger; and a motion vector derivation step of deriving the motionvector of the current block (1) by scaling the reference motion vectorbased on the first predetermined value and the second parameter when thefirst parameter is the first predetermined value or larger as a resultof the judgment in the judgment step, and (2) by scaling the referencemotion vector based on the first parameter and the second parameter whenthe first parameter is smaller than the first predetermined value as aresult of said judgment.

Here, in the judgment step, it is further judged whether the firstparameter is a second predetermined value that is smaller than the firstpredetermined value or smaller, and in the motion vector derivationstep, the motion vector of the current block may be derived by scalingthe reference motion vector based on the second predetermined value andthe second parameter when the first parameter is the secondpredetermined value or smaller as a result of the judgment in thejudgment step.

Also, it is preferable that the above-mentioned motion vector derivationmethod further includes a conversion step of converting the obtainedfirst parameter into an inverse value of said first parameter withreference to a multiplier parameter table indicating a relationshipbetween the first parameter and the inverse value of the first parameterand obtaining the resulting inverse value as a third parameter.

Further, it is preferable that in the motion vector derivation step, themotion vector of the current block is derived by multiplying thereference motion vector, the second parameter and the third parameter,when scaling the reference motion vector based on the first parameterand the second parameter.

Accordingly, multiplication can be performed instead of divisionrequired for scaling a reference motion vector. Also, since a value of aparameter used for scaling a reference motion vector is limited to apredetermined range, data amount on a multiplier parameter table storedin a memory can be reduced. In addition, inconsistency in the resultsdue to calculation error between coding and decoding can be prevented.

The motion vector derivation method according to the present inventionis a motion vector derivation method for deriving a motion vector of ablock in a picture, comprising: a reference motion vector obtaining stepof obtaining a reference motion vector for deriving a motion vector of acurrent block; a first parameter obtaining step of obtaining a firstparameter corresponding to a distance between a picture which has thereference motion vector and a picture which is referred to by thereference motion vector; a second parameter obtaining step of obtainingat least a single second parameter corresponding to a distance between apicture which includes the current block and a picture which is referredto by the current block; a judgment step of judging whether the firstparameter is a first predetermined value or larger; and a motion vectorderivation step of deriving the motion vector of the current block (1)by considering the reference motion vector as said motion vector of thecurrent block when the first parameter is the first predetermined valueor larger as a result of the judgment in the judgment step, and (2) byscaling the reference motion vector based on the first parameter and thesecond parameter when the first parameter is smaller than the firstpredetermined value as a result of said judgment.

Here, in the judgment step, it is further judged whether the firstparameter is a second predetermined value that is smaller than the firstpredetermined value or smaller, and in the motion vector derivationstep, the motion vector of the current block may be derived byconsidering the reference motion vector as said motion vector of thecurrent block when the first parameter is the second predetermined valueor smaller as a result of the judgment in the judgment step.

Accordingly, when a distance between a picture which is referred to by areference motion vector and a picture which has the reference motionvector is out of a predetermined range of values, derivation of motionvectors can be simplified.

Further, the moving picture coding method according to the presentinvention is a moving picture coding method for coding a picture in amoving picture on a block by block basis, comprising: a motioncompensation step of generating a motion compensation image of a currentblock to be coded using the motion vector derived by the motion vectorderivation method according to the present invention; and a coding stepof coding the current block to be coded using the motion compensationimage.

Also, the moving picture decoding method according to the presentinvention is a moving picture decoding method for decoding coded movingpicture data obtained by coding a picture in a moving picture on a blockby block basis, comprising: a motion compensation step of generating amotion compensation image of a current block to be decoded using themotion vector derived by the motion vector derivation method accordingto the present invention; and a decoding step of decoding the currentblock to be decoded using the motion compensation image.

The present invention can be realized not only as the above-describedmotion vector derivation method, moving picture coding method and movingpicture decoding method, but also as a motion vector derivationapparatus, a moving picture coding apparatus and a moving picturedecoding apparatus including units for executing the characteristicsteps included in these motion vector derivation method, moving picturecoding method and moving picture decoding method, or as a program forcausing a computer to execute these steps. It goes without saying thatsuch a program can be distributed via a recording medium such as aCD-ROM or a transmission medium such as the Internet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of motion vectors.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of conventional processing forderiving motion vectors.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a structure of a moving picture codingapparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a structure of a motion vectorderivation unit of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a multiplier parameter table of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method for deriving motion vectors ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of motion vectors of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a structure of another motion vectorderivation unit of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another method for deriving motion vectorsof the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of other motion vectors of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of still other motion vectors of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a structure of still another motionvector derivation unit of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a structure of a moving picturedecoding apparatus of the present invention.

FIGS. 14A˜14C are illustrations of a recording medium storing a programfor realizing the moving picture coding method and the moving picturedecoding method in each of the present embodiments in a computer system,and specifically, FIG. 14A is an illustration showing a physical formatof a flexible disk as a main unit of the recording medium, FIG. 14B isan illustration showing a flexible disk, a cross-sectional view of theappearance of the flexible disk, and a front view of the appearance ofthe flexible disk, and FIG. 14C is an illustration showing aconfiguration for writing and reading the program on and from theflexible disk.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a contentproviding system.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a mobile phone as an example.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the structure of the mobile phone.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a digital broadcast system as an example.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the present invention will be explained below withreference to figures.

First Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a structure of a moving picture codingapparatus according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, the terms whichhave already been explained in the background art with reference to FIG.1 will be explained using the same signs as those in FIG. 1. The presentembodiment is different from the conventional art in that parametersused for deriving motion vectors of the current picture to be coded 1202are limited to a predetermined range of values.

As shown in FIG. 3, the moving picture coding apparatus includes amotion vector coding unit 10, a motion vector derivation unit 11, amemory 12, a subtracter 13, an orthogonal transformation unit 14, aquantization unit 15, an inverse quantization unit 16, an inverseorthogonal transformation unit 17, an adder 18 and a variable lengthcoding unit 19.

The motion vector coding unit 10 encodes motion vectors (such as MV1) ofrespective pictures for output as a motion vector stream. The motionvector derivation unit 11 derives motion vectors MVscl (MVb and MVf) ofa current block to be coded MB1 using a motion vector MVtar (MV1) of areference block MB2, parameters TRtar and a parameter TR1. Here, themotion vector of the reference block MB2 is scaled based on theabove-described Equation 1(a) and Equation 1(b). The parameters TRtarcorrespond to TRb and TRf as mentioned above.

The memory 12 stores the image data of the reference pictures and themotion vectors MVscl of the current picture 1202 derived by the motionvector derivation unit 11. In this memory 12, motion compensation datais generated based on the image data of the reference picture and themotion vectors MVscl of the current picture 1202. The subtracter 13calculates a difference between image data of an inputted picture andthe motion compensation data inputted from the memory 12 to obtain adifferential value. The orthogonal transformation unit 14 performs DCT(discrete cosine transformation) for the differential value and outputsa DCT coefficient. The quantization unit 15 quantizes the DCTcoefficient using a quantization step. The inverse quantization unit 16inverse quantizes the quantized DCT coefficient using the quantizationstep back to the original DCT coefficient. The inverse orthogonaltransformation unit 17 performs inverse orthogonal transformation forthe DCT coefficient to output differential image data (differentialvalue).

The adder 18 adds the differential image data (differential value)outputted from the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 17 and theimage data of the reference picture stored in the memory 12 so as toobtain decoded image data corresponding to the inputted image data(original inputted image data) of the current picture 1202. This decodedimage data is stored in the memory 12 as image data for reference whencoding pictures which are to be coded later than the current picture1202. The variable length coding unit 19 performs variable length codingfor the DCT coefficient quantized by the quantization unit 15.

Next, the operation of the moving picture coding apparatus structured asmentioned above in direct mode coding will be explained with referenceto FIG. 3.

Motion vectors of each picture are coded by the motion vector codingunit 10 and outputted as a motion vector stream.

The motion vector derivation unit 11 derives motion vectors of a currentblock MB1 as scaled versions of the motion vector MVtar of the referenceblock MB2 based on the parameters TRtar and TR1. The memory 12 extractsimages of the pictures pointed by the motion vectors derived by themotion vector derivation unit 11 from among the image data of thereference pictures stored therein, and outputs them as motioncompensation data.

The subtracter 13 calculates a difference between the image data of aninputted picture and the motion compensation data outputted from thememory 12 to obtain differential image data that is a differentialvalue. The differential value is transformed into a DCT coefficientthrough orthogonal transformation by the orthogonal transformation unit14. The DCT coefficient is quantized by the quantization unit 15, andinverse quantized by the inverse quantization unit 16 back to theoriginal DCT coefficient. The DCT coefficient is reconstructed asdifferential image data (differential value) through inverse orthogonaltransformation by the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 17. Thisdifferential image data (differential value) is added with the motioncompensation data outputted from the memory 12 by the adder 18 to obtaindecoded image data corresponding to the original inputted image data.This inputted image data is stored in the memory 12 as image data forreference when coding the following pictures to be coded.

The DCT coefficient quantized by the quantization unit 15 is performedof variable length coding by the variable length coding unit 19 andoutputted as a stream.

Next, the structure for scaling motion vectors under the limit ofparameters to a predetermined range of values will be explained withreference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the motion vectorderivation unit 11 in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the motion vector derivation unit 11 includes acomparison unit 20, a switching unit 21, a multiplier parameter table(for multipliers) 22, multiplication units 23 and 25, and a multiplierparameter table (for divisors) 24.

The comparison unit 20 compares the parameter TR1 for the motion vectorMVtar (MV1) of the reference block MB2 with a predetermined value todetermine whether it exceeds the predetermined value or not. Theswitching unit 21 switches selection of the maximum value of apre-stored parameter TR or the parameter TR1 based on the result of thecomparison by the comparison unit 20. The multiplier parameter table 22indicates the correspondence between the parameters TRtar (TRb and TRf)and the multipliers (multiplication values). The multiplication unit 23multiplies the motion vector MVtar (MV1) of the reference block MB2 bymultiplier parameters outputted from the multiplier parameter table 22.

The multiplier parameter table 24 indicates the correspondence betweenthe output values from the switching unit 21 and the multiplicationvalues. The multiplication unit 25 multiplies the output values from themultiplication unit 23 by the parameters outputted from the multiplierparameter table 24.

The operation of a motion vector derivation unit 11A will be explainedbelow with reference to FIG. 4. The motion vector derivation unit 11A asshown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the motion vector derivation unit 11 inthe block diagram of the moving picture coding apparatus as shown inFIG. 3.

The parameter TR1 for the motion vector MVtar (MV1) of the referenceblock MB2 is compared with a value predetermined by the comparison unit20 to determine whether it exceeds the predetermined value or not. As aresult, when the parameter TR1 does not exceed the predetermined value,the switching unit 21 selects the parameter TR1 as it is. On the otherhand, when the parameter TR1 exceeds the predetermined value, theswitching unit 21 selects the predetermined value (the maximum value ofTR).

The multiplier parameters corresponding to the parameters TRtar (TRb andTRf) for the motion vectors MVscl (MVb and MVf) of the current block areselected on the multiplier parameter table 22, and the multiplicationunit 23 multiplies the motion vector MVtar of the reference block MB2 bythe selected multiplier parameters.

The multiplier parameters corresponding to the parameters selected bythe switching unit 21 are selected on the multiplier parameter table 24,and the multiplication unit 25 multiplies the outputs of themultiplication unit 23 by the selected multiplier parameters.

The values (scaled values) obtained by multiplication of the motionvector MVtar of the reference block MB2 by the multiplier parametersrespectively by the multiplication units 23 and 25 in this manner arethe motion vectors MVscl of the current picture 1202.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a multiplier parameter table,and this table corresponds to the multiplier parameter table 24 in FIG.4.

The left column in FIG. 5 indicates parameters TR1 (divisors) inputtedto this table, which are limited to a predetermined range of values“1”˜“8”. The center column indicates the multiplicative inverses (1/TR1)of the parameters. The right column indicates multiplier parameters(Tscl), which are values approximate to the inverse values (1/TR1) ofthe parameters indicated on the center column. In actual calculation,the multiplier parameters (Tscl) on the right column are used as valuesfor deriving motion vectors MVscl of the current picture 1202, whichallows simplification of calculation.

For example, two motion vectors MVf and MVb of a current block to becoded MB1 are calculated by

MVf=MV1×TRf×Tscl  Equation 2(a)

MVb=−MV1×TRb×Tscl  Equation 2(b)

where MVf is a forward motion vector of the current block MB1, MVb is abackward motion vector of the current block MB1, Tscl is a multiplierparameter corresponding to an inverse value of a distance between thepicture 1200 and the picture 1203, that is, 1/TR1, TRf is a distancebetween the picture 1200 and the picture 1202, and TRb is a distancebetween the picture 1202 and the picture 1203.

Next, processing for deriving motion vectors MVscl of a current blockMB1 will be explained with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing procedures for deriving motionvectors MVscl. The motion vector derivation unit 11A obtains informationon a motion vector MVtar of a reference block MB2 (Step S401). Thismotion vector MVtar corresponds to MV1 in Equations 1(a) and 1(b). Next,the motion vector derivation unit 11A obtains parameters TRtar and aparameter TR1 for deriving the motion vectors MVscl of the current blockMB1 (Step S402). These parameters TRtar correspond to TRf and TRb inEquations 1(a) and 1(b).

Next, the comparison unit 20 judges whether the parameter TR1corresponding to a divisor is a predetermined value or larger (StepS403). When the parameter TR1 is a predetermined value or larger as aresult of judgment, the switching unit 21 selects a parametercorresponding to the maximum divisor (the maximum value “8” of TR1 inthe example of FIG. 5). Then, the motion vector derivation unit 11Ascales the motion vector MVtar obtained in Step S401 using the parametercorresponding to the maximum divisor to derive the motion vectors MVsclof the current block MB1 (Step S405). On the other hand, when theobtained parameter TR1 is smaller than the predetermined value, theswitching unit 21 selects a parameter corresponding to its divisor.Then, the motion vector derivation unit 11A scales the motion vectorMVtar in the same manner using the parameter corresponding to thedivisor to derive the motion vectors MVscl of the current block MB1(Step S404).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, parameters usedfor scaling a motion vector of a reference block is limited to apredetermined range of values, and thus data amount of a multiplierparameter table corresponding to divisors stored in a memory can bereduced, and inconsistency in the results due to calculation errorbetween coding and decoding can also be prevented, which are the effectsof the present invention.

In the present embodiment, it is judged in Step S403 whether theparameter TR1 is a predetermined value or larger, but the presentinvention is not limited to that, it may be judged whether the parameterTR1 is within a predetermined range of values or not. For example, asshown in FIG. 7, when a motion vector MV1 of a reference block MB2refers to a backward picture, a parameter TR1 (divisor) and a multiplierparameter Tscl corresponding to the parameter TR1 are negative values asdescribed below. In FIG. 7, a picture 1500, a picture 1501, a picture1502 and a picture 1503 are located in display order. The picture 1501is a current picture to be coded, and a block MB1 is a current block tobe coded. FIG. 7 shows bi-prediction from the block MB1 in the picture1501 with reference to the picture 1500 and the picture 1503.

When the picture 1500 which is a forward reference picture for thepicture 1501 has a motion vector MV1 pointing to the picture 1503 whichis a backward reference picture, motion vectors of the current block MB1are determined using the motion vector MV1 of a reference block MB2 inthe forward reference picture 1500 of the current picture 1501. Twomotion vectors MVf and MVb are calculated using the above Equation 2(a)and Equation 2(b). In this case where the motion vector MV1 of thereference block MB2 refers to the backward picture, a parameter TR1(divisor) and a multiplier parameter Tscl corresponding to the parameterTR1 are negative values.

Therefore, it is judged whether the parameter TR1 is a firstpredetermined value or larger and whether the parameter TR1 is a secondpredetermined value or smaller. When the parameter TR1 is the firstpredetermined value or larger as a result of this judgment, a motionvector MVtar is scaled using a parameter corresponding to the maximumdivisor to derive motion vectors MVscl of the current block MB1. Whenthe parameter TR1 is the second predetermined value or smaller, themotion vector MVtar is scaled using a parameter corresponding to theminimum divisor to derive the motion vectors MVscl of the current blockMB1. Further, when the parameter TR1 is smaller than the firstpredetermined value and larger than the second predetermined value, themotion vector MVtar is scaled using the parameter TR1 to derive themotion vectos MVscl of the current block MB1.

As described in the background art, parameters TR1 and TRtar indicatingthe distances between pictures are not limited to a difference in timeinformation between pictures, but may be index data indicating atemporal distance between pictures in display order so as to be used forscaling motion vectors, such as data obtained using a difference inpicture numbers assigned to respective pictures, data obtained using adifference in picture display order (or information indicating picturedisplay order) and data obtained using the number of pictures betweenpictures.

Since the number of multiplier parameters corresponding to divisors isinfinite if the divisors are not limited to a predetermined range ofvalues, a parameter table corresponding to divisors cannot be realized,and thus a mechanism for realizing division by multiplication cannot berealized in itself.

Note that, in the present embodiment, as an example of judging whether aparameter TR1 is within a predetermined range of values or not, “whetherit is a predetermined value or larger” is judged as shown in FIG. 6, but“whether it exceeds a predetermined value or not” or “whether it issmaller than a predetermined value or not” may be judged.

Second Embodiment

In the above first embodiment, when a motion vector MVtar that is areference motion vector is scaled to derive motion vectors MVscl, aparameter TR1 is compared with the upper limit of divisors stored in amultiplier parameter table, and if TR1 is the upper limit or larger, avalue corresponding to the maximum divisor in the multiplier parametertable is used as a multiplier parameter corresponding to the inputtedparameter TR1. In the second embodiment, the parameter TR1 is comparedwith the upper limit of divisors stored in the multiplier parametertable, and if TR1 is the upper limit or larger, the inputted MVtar isused as it is as the motion vectors MVscl without scaling the motionvector MVtar, and thus derivation of the motion vectors MVscl can besimplified when TR1 is the upper limit or larger. The second embodimentof the present invention will be explained below with reference tofigures.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a structure of a motion vectorderivation unit of the second embodiment. A motion vector derivationunit 11B as shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the motion vector derivationunit 11 in the block diagram of the moving picture coding apparatus inFIG. 3. Note that the structure of the moving picture coding apparatusas shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, except the motion vectorderivation unit 11, has been already explained in the first embodiment.Therefore, the motion vector derivation unit 11B as shown in FIG. 8 willbe explained below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 8, the motion vector derivation unit 11B includes amultiplier parameter table (for multipliers) 50, a multiplier parametertable (for divisors) 51, a comparison unit 52, a multiplication units 53and 54, and a switching unit 55.

This motion vector derivation unit 11B derives motion vectors (MVb andMVf) of a current block to be coded MB1 using the motion vector MVtar(MV1) of the reference block MB2, parameters TRtar (TRf and TRb) and aparameter TR1, as shown in FIG. 1. Here, the motion vector MVtar of thereference block MB2 is scaled using the above Equation 2(a) and Equation2(b). The parameters TRtar correspond to TRb and TRf as mentioned above.

The comparison unit 52 compares the parameter TR1 for the motion vectorMVtar of the reference block MB2 with a predetermined value to determinewhether it exceeds the predetermined value or not. Here, a predeterminedvalue means the maximum value “8” of divisors stored in the multiplierparameter table as shown in FIG. 5, for example. The switching unit 55selects the output of the multiplication unit 54 (Processing 57) or theinputted motion vector MVtar of the reference block MB2 (Processing 58)depending on the comparison result of the comparison unit 52.

The multiplier parameter table (for multipliers) 50 indicatescorrespondence between parameters TRtar (TRb and TRf) and multipliers(multiplication values). The multiplier parameter table (for divisors)51 indicates correspondence between TR1 and multipliers (divisors). Notethat in the second embodiment, TRtar inputted to the multiplierparameter table 50 is inputted to the multiplication unit 53 as it is,but the present invention is not limited to that, and arithmeticprocessing may be performed in the multiplier parameter table 50 ifnecessary.

The multiplication unit 53 multiplies the motion vector MVtar (MV1) ofthe reference picture 1203 by a multiplier parameter outputted from themultiplier parameter table (for multipliers) 50. The multiplication unit54 multiplies the output value of the multiplication unit 53 by amultiplier parameter outputted from the multiplier parameter table (fordivisors) 51. Note that multiplication in the multiplication units 53and 54 may be performed in inverse order.

Next, operation of the motion vector derivation unit 11B as shown inFIG. 8 will be explained with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a flowchartshowing processing procedures of deriving motion vectors MVscl.

First, a motion vector MVtar of a reference block MB2 is obtained (StepS601). Next, parameters (TR1 and TRtar) are obtained for deriving motionvectors MVscl of a current block MB1 (Step S602).

Next, it is judged whether the obtained parameter TR1 corresponding to adivisor is a predetermined value or larger (Step S603). When theparameter TR1 corresponding to the divisor is the predetermined value orlarger as a result of the judgment, the switching unit 55 selects theprocessing 58. On the other hand, when the parameter TR1 is not thepredetermined value or larger, the switching unit 55 selects theprocessing 57.

When the switching unit 55 selects the processing 58, the referencemotion vector MVtar obtained in Step S601 is determined to be the motionvectors MVscl as it is (Step S605). On the other hand, when theswitching unit 55 selects the processing 57, the motion vectors MVsclare derived using the parameter corresponding to the divisor (TR1) (StepS604). In other words, the results of the multiplications by themultiplication units 53 and 54 are the motion vectors MVscl.

Since the current picture 1202 as shown in FIG. 1 has a forward motionvector MVs and a backward motion vector MVb, the processing as shown inFIG. 9 is performed for deriving these two motion vectors, respectively.To be more specific, when calculating a motion vector MVf as a motionvector MVscl, a parameter TRtar obtained in Step S602 is a parameterTRf, and when calculating a motion vector MVb as a motion vector MVscl,a parameter TRtar obtained in Step S602 is a parameter TRb.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the processing procedureis predetermined: (1) a parameter used for scaling a motion vector of areference block is limited to a predetermined range of values, and (2)when the parameter exceeds the upper limit, the inputted MVtar is usedas a motion vector MVscl as it is without scaling the motion vectorMVtar, and thus inconsistency in the results due to calculation errorbetween coding and decoding can be prevented. Processing amount forderiving motion vectors can also be reduced. In addition, data amount ofa multiplier parameter table stored in a memory can be reduced.

As described in the background art, the parameters TR1 and TRtar are notlimited to data indicating a difference in time information betweenpictures, but may be quantitative data indicating a temporal distancebetween pictures in display order so as to be used for scaling motionvectors, such as data obtained using a difference in picture numbersassigned to respective pictures (for example, in FIG. 1, when thepicture numbers of the pictures 1200 and 1203 are respectively 1200 and1203, the data is “3” obtained by subtracting 1200 from 1203) and dataobtained using the number of pictures between pictures (for example, inFIG. 1, although there are two pictures between the picture 1200 and thepicture 1203, the distance between these pictures is determined to be2+1=“3” as TR1).

Also, in the second embodiment, a case has been explained where theparameter TR1 is compared with the upper limit of divisors stored in themultiplier parameter table, and when TR1 does not exceed the upperlimit, the multiplication unit 54 performs multiplication using themultiplier parameter table 51, but the division unit 94 may performdivision using a divisor parameter table 91 as shown in FIG. 12. Amotion vector derivation unit 11C as shown in FIG. 12 corresponds to themotion vector derivation unit 11 in the block diagram of the movingpicture coding apparatus as shown in FIG. 3. Note that the structure ofthe moving picture coding apparatus as shown in the block diagram ofFIG. 3, except the motion vector derivation unit 11, has already beenexplained in the first embodiment. In FIG. 12, the same numbers areassigned to the same units as those in FIG. 8.

In the first and second embodiments, a case has been explained wheremotion vectors as shown in FIG. 1 are derived using Equation 2(a) andEquation 2(b), but even when deriving motion vectors as shown in FIG. 10or FIG. 11, the invention described in the present specifications can beused.

First, a method for deriving motion vectors in direct mode as shown inFIG. 10 will be explained. In FIG. 10, a picture 1700, a picture 1701, apicture 1702 and a picture 1703 are located in display order, and ablock MB1 is a current block to be coded. FIG. 10 shows an example ofbi-prediction from the current block MB1 with reference to the picture1700 and the picture 1703.

Motion vectors MVf and MVb of the current block MB1 can be derived usinga motion vector MV1 of a reference block MB2 which is located temporallybackward of the current block MB1 in display order by the above Equation2(a) and Equation 2(b).

Here, MVf is a forward motion vector of the current block MB1, MVb is abackward motion vector of the current block MB1, Tscl is a multiplierparameter corresponding to an inverse value of a distance between thepicture 1700 and the picture 1703, that is, 1/TR1, TRf is a distancebetween the picture 1701 and the picture 1702, and TRb is a distancebetween the picture 1702 and the picture 1703.

Note that as for TR1, TRf and TRb, any data may be used if a distancebetween pictures can be determined quantitatively using the data, asexplained above. Also, a flow of the processing for deriving a motionvector MVf and a motion vector MVb is same as that described in FIG. 6or FIG. 9.

Next, a method for deriving motion vectors as shown in FIG. 11 will beexplained. In FIG. 11, a picture 1800, a picture 1801, a picture 1802are located in display order, and a block MB1 is a current block to becoded. In FIG. 11, the current block MB1 is predicted with reference tothe picture 1800 and the picture 1801, and has motion vectors MV1 andMV2. The motion vector MV2 is predictively coded using a motion vectorMVscl that is a scaled version of the motion vector MV1 explained asfollows.

First, the motion vector MVscl, that is, a vector pointing to thereference picture 1800 pointed by the motion vector MV2 from the currentblock MB1, is derived by the following equations. It is assumed that themotion vector MV2 which is to be coded has been derived by apredetermined method. Equation 3(a) and Equation 3(b) can be applied tothe case described in the first embodiment, and Equation 4(a) andEquation 4(b) can be applied to the case described in the secondembodiment.

MVscl=MV1×TR3×Tscl (TR1<upper limit)  Equation 3(a)

MVscl=MV1×TR3×TsclMin (TR1≧upper limit)  Equation 3(b)

MVscl=MV1×TR3×Tscl (TR1<upper limit)  Equation 4(a)

MVscl=MV1(TR1≧upper limit)  Equation 4(b)

Here, Tscl is an inverse value of TR1 where TR1 is a distance betweenthe picture 1801 and the picture 1802, the upper limit is the maximumdivisor (“8” in FIG. 5) in the multiplier parameter table 51 (fordivisors), TsclMin is a multiplier parameter corresponding to themaximum divisor (TR1) in the multiplier parameter table 51 (fordivisors), TR3 is a distance between the picture 1800 and the picture1802, and TR1 is a distance between the picture 1801 and the picture1802.

Next, for coding the motion vector MV2, the motion vector MV2 itself isnot coded, but only a difference (differential vector) between themotion vector MVscl derived using any of Equations 3(a), 3(b), 4(a) and4(b) and the motion vector MV2 derived by the predetermined method iscoded, and thus, in decoding processing, the motion vector MV2 isderived using the coded differential vector and MVscl that is a scaledversion of the motion vector MV1.

As for TR1 and TR3, any data can be used if a temporal distance betweenpictures in display order can be determined quantitatively using thedata, as explained above. The flow of the processing of deriving amotion vector MVscl is same as that described in FIG. 6 or FIG. 9. Also,the upper limit in the multiplier parameter table as shown in FIG. 5 is“8”, but the value is not limited to that, and it may be other valuessuch as “16” and “32”. However, since a change in a multiplicativeinverse corresponding to a divisor becomes smaller as the divisorbecomes larger, an error of a derived motion vector is considerablysmall even if it is derived using a multiplier parameter with its upperlimit set to be larger.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a structure of a moving picturedecoding apparatus according to the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 13, the moving picture decoding apparatus includes avariable length decoding unit 1000, an inverse quantization unit 1001,an inverse orthogonal transformation unit 1002, an addition unit 1003, amotion vector decoding unit 1004, a motion vector derivation unit 1005and a memory 1006. Note that the specific explanation of the structureand operation of the motion vector derivation unit 1005 will be omittedbecause they are same as those of the first and second embodiments.

The variable length decoding unit 1000 performs variable length decodingfor the coded data stream outputted from the moving picture codingapparatus according to each of the above embodiments, and outputs codedprediction error data to the inverse quantization unit 100, and outputsat the same time motion vector derivation parameters TRtar and TR1 tothe motion vector derivation unit 1005. The inverse quantization unit1001 inverse quantizes the inputted coded prediction error data. Theinverse orthogonal transformation unit 1002 performs inverse orthogonaltransformation for the inverse-quantized coded prediction error data tooutput differential image data.

The motion vector decoding unit 1004 decodes the inputted motion vectorstream to extract motion vector information. The motion vectorderivation unit 1005 derives motion vectors MVscl (MVb and MVf) of acurrent block to be coded MB1 using a motion vector MVtar of a referenceblock MB2, parameters TRtar and a parameter TR1. The memory 1006 storesthe image data of the reference pictures and the motion vectors MVscl ofthe current block MB1 derived by the motion vector derivation unit 1005.The memory 1006 also generates motion compensation data based on theimage data of the reference picture and the motion vectors MVscl of thecurrent block MB1. The addition unit 1003 adds the inputted differentialimage data and the motion compensation data for generating andoutputting decoded images.

Next, operation of direct mode decoding in the moving picture decodingapparatus structured as mentioned above will be explained.

The coded data stream outputted from the moving picture coding apparatusis inputted to the variable length decoding unit 1000. The variablelength decoding unit 1000 performs variable length decoding for thecoded data stream, and outputs coded differential data to the inversequantization unit 1001, and outputs at the same time parameters TRtarand TR1 to the motion vector derivation unit 1005. The codeddifferential data inputted to the inverse quantization unit 1001 isinverse quantized, inverse orthogonal transformed, and then outputted tothe addition unit 1003 as differential image data.

Also, the motion vector stream inputted to the moving picture decodingapparatus according to the present embodiment is inputted to the motionvector decoding unit 1004 to extract motion vector information. To bemore specific, the motion vector decoding unit 1004 decodes the motionvector stream and outputs the motion vector MVtar to the motion vectorderivation unit 1005. Next, the motion vector derivation unit 1005derives motion vectors MVscl (MVb and MVf) of a current block to becoded using the motion vector MVtar and the parameters TRtar and TR1.The memory 1006 extracts, from among the image data of the referencepictures stored therein, images which are indicated by the motionvectors derived by the motion vector derivation unit 1005, and outputsthem as motion compensation data. The addition unit 1003 adds theinputted differential image data and the motion compensation data togenerate decoded image data, and outputs it as a reproduced picture inthe end.

Fourth Embodiment

In addition, if a program, for realizing the structure of the movingpicture coding method and the moving picture decoding method as shown ineach of the embodiments, is recorded on a storage medium such as aflexible disk, it becomes possible to perform the processing as shown inthese embodiments easily in an independent computer system.

FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C are illustrations of a storage medium for storinga program for realizing the moving picture coding method and the movingpicture decoding method in the first, second and third embodiments in acomputer system.

FIG. 14B shows a flexible disk and the front view and thecross-sectional view of the appearance of the flexible disk, and FIG.14A shows an example of a physical format of a flexible disk as astorage medium itself. A flexible disk FD is contained in a case F, aplurality of tracks Tr are formed concentrically on the surface of thedisk in the radius direction from the periphery, and each track isdivided into 16 sectors Se in the angular direction. Therefore, as forthe flexible disk storing the above-mentioned program, the movingpicture coding method as the program is recorded in an area allocatedfor it on the flexible disk FD.

FIG. 14C shows the structure for writing and reading the program on andfrom the flexible disk FD. When the program is recorded on the flexibledisk FD, the computer system Cs writes the moving picture coding methodor the moving picture decoding method as the program on the flexibledisk FD via a flexible disk drive. For constructing the moving picturecoding method in the computer system by the program recorded on theflexible disk, the program is read out from the flexible disk via theflexible disk drive and transferred to the computer system.

The above explanation is made on the assumption that a storage medium isa flexible disk, but the same processing can also be performed using anoptical disk. In addition, the storage medium is not limited to aflexible disk and an optical disk, but any other mediums such as an ICcard and a ROM cassette can be used if a program can be recorded onthem.

Here, the applications of the moving picture coding method and themoving picture decoding method as shown in the above embodiments and thesystem using them will be explained below.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of acontent providing system ex100 for realizing content distributionservice. The area for providing communication service is divided intocells of desired size, and base stations ex107˜ex110 which are fixedwireless stations are placed in respective cells.

In this content providing system ex100, apparatuses such as a computerex111, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) ex112, a camera ex113, amobile phone ex114 and a camera-equipped mobile phone ex115 areconnected to each other via the Internet ex101, an Internet serviceprovider ex102, a telephone network ex104 and base stations ex107˜ex110.

However, the content providing system ex100 is not limited to theconfiguration as shown in FIG. 15, and any of these apparatuses may beconnected as a combination. Also, each apparatus may be connecteddirectly to the telephone network ex104, not through the base stationsex107˜ex110.

The camera ex113 is an apparatus such as a digital video camera capableof shooting moving pictures. The mobile phone may be a mobile phone of aPDC (Personal Digital Communication) system, a CDMA (Code DivisionMultiple Access) system, a W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division MultipleAccess) system or a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)system, a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) or the like.

A streaming server ex103 is connected to the camera ex113 via thetelephone network ex104 and the base station ex109, which enables livedistribution or the like using the camera ex113 based on the coded datatransmitted from the user. Either the camera ex113 or the server fortransmitting the data may code the data shot by the camera. Also, themoving picture data shot by a camera ex116 may be transmitted to thestreaming server ex103 via the computer ex111. The camera ex116 is anapparatus such as a digital camera capable of shooting still and movingpictures. Either the camera ex116 or the computer ex111 may code themoving picture data. An LSI ex117 included in the computer ex111 or thecamera ex116 actually performs coding processing. Software for codingand decoding moving pictures may be integrated into any type of astorage medium (such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk and a hard disk) whichis readable by the computer ex111 or the like. Furthermore, thecamera-equipped mobile phone ex115 may transmit the moving picture data.This moving picture data is the data coded by the LSI included in themobile phone ex115.

In the content providing system ex100, contents (such as a music livevideo) shot by users using the camera ex113, the camera ex116 or thelike are coded in the same manner as the above embodiments andtransmitted to the streaming server ex103, while the streaming serverex103 makes stream distribution of the content data to the clients attheir request. The clients include the computer ex111, the PDA ex112,the camera ex113, the mobile phone ex114 and so on capable of decodingthe above-mentioned coded data. In the content providing system ex100,the clients can thus receive and reproduce the coded data, and furthercan receive, decode and reproduce the data in real time so as to realizepersonal broadcasting.

When each apparatus in this system performs coding or decoding, themoving picture coding apparatus or the moving picture decodingapparatus, as shown in the above embodiments, can be used.

A mobile phone will be explained as an example.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the mobile phone ex115 realized using themoving picture coding method and the moving picture decoding methodexplained in the above embodiments. The mobile phone ex115 has anantenna ex201 for sending and receiving radio waves between the basestation ex110, a camera unit ex203 such as a CCD camera capable ofshooting moving and still pictures, a display unit ex202 such as aliquid crystal display for displaying the data obtained by decodingvideo and the like shot by the camera unit ex203 or received by theantenna ex201, a main body including a set of operation keys ex204, avoice output unit ex208 such as a speaker for outputting voices, a voiceinput unit 205 such as a microphone for inputting voices, a storagemedium ex207 for storing coded or decoded data such as data of moving orstill pictures shot by the camera and data of moving or still picturesof received e-mails, and a slot unit ex206 for attaching the storagemedium ex207 into the mobile phone ex115. The storage medium ex207includes a flash memory element, a kind of EEPROM (Electrically Erasableand Programmable Read Only Memory) that is an electrically erasable andrewritable nonvolatile memory, in a plastic case such as an SD card.

Next, the mobile phone ex115 will be explained with reference to FIG.17. In the mobile phone ex115, a main control unit ex311 for overallcontrolling each unit of the main body including the display unit ex202and the operation keys ex204 is connected to a power supply circuit unitex310, an operation input control unit ex304, a picture coding unitex312, a camera interface unit ex303, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)control unit ex302, a picture decoding unit ex309, amultiplex/demultiplex unit ex308, a read/write unit ex307, a modemcircuit unit ex306 and a voice processing unit ex305 to each other via asynchronous bus ex313.

When a call-end key or a power key is turned ON by a user's operation,the power supply circuit unit ex310 supplies respective units with powerfrom a battery pack so as to activate the camera-equipped digital mobilephone ex115 for a ready state.

In the mobile phone ex115, the voice processing unit ex305 converts thevoice signals received by the voice input unit ex205 in conversationmode into digital voice data under the control of the main control unitex311 including a CPU, ROM and RAM, the modem circuit unit ex306performs spread spectrum processing of the digital voice data, and thesend/receive circuit unit ex301 performs digital-to-analog conversionand frequency conversion of the data, so as to transmit the resultingdata via the antenna ex201. Also, in the mobile phone ex115, thesend/receive circuit unit ex301 amplifies the data received by theantenna ex201 in conversation mode and performs frequency conversion andanalog-to-digital conversion of the data, the modem circuit unit ex306performs inverse spread spectrum processing of the data, and the voiceprocessing unit ex305 converts it into analog voice data, so as tooutput the resulting data via the voice output unit ex208.

Furthermore, when transmitting an e-mail in data communication mode, thetext data of the e-mail inputted by operating the operation keys ex204on the main body is sent out to the main control unit ex311 via theoperation input control unit ex304. In the main control unit ex311,after the modem circuit unit ex306 performs spread spectrum processingof the text data and the send/receive circuit unit ex301 performsdigital-to-analog conversion and frequency conversion of it, theresulting data is transmitted to the base station ex110 via the antennaex201.

When picture data is transmitted in data communication mode, the picturedata shot by the camera unit ex203 is supplied to the picture codingunit ex312 via the camera interface unit ex303. When it is nottransmitted, the picture data shot by the camera unit ex203 can also bedisplayed directly on the display unit 202 via the camera interface unitex303 and the LCD control unit ex302.

The picture coding unit ex312, which includes the moving picture codingapparatus as explained in the present invention, codes the picture datasupplied from the camera unit ex203 by the coding method used for themoving picture coding apparatus as shown in the above embodiments so asto transform it into coded picture data, and sends it out to themultiplex/demultiplex unit ex308. At this time, the mobile phone ex115sends out the voices received by the voice input unit ex205 duringshooting pictures by the camera unit ex203 to the multiplex/demultiplexunit ex308 as digital voice data via the voice processing unit ex305.

The multiplex/demultiplex unit ex308 multiplexes the coded picture datasupplied from the picture coding unit ex312 and the voice data suppliedfrom the voice processing unit ex305 by a predetermined method, themodem circuit unit ex306 performs spread spectrum processing of theresulting multiplexed data, and the send/receive circuit unit ex301performs digital-to-analog conversion and frequency conversion of thedata for transmitting via the antenna ex201.

As for receiving data of a moving picture file which is linked to aWebsite or the like in data communication mode, the modem circuit unitex306 performs inverse spread spectrum processing of the data receivedfrom the base station ex110 via the antenna ex201, and sends out theresulting multiplexed data to the multiplex/demultiplex unit ex308.

In order to decode the multiplexed data received via the antenna ex201,the multiplex/demultiplex unit ex308 demultiplexes the multiplexed datainto a bit stream of picture data and a bit stream of voice data, andsupplies the coded picture data to the picture decoding unit ex309 andthe voice data to the voice processing unit ex305 respectively via thesynchronous bus ex313.

Next, the picture decoding unit ex309, which includes the moving picturedecoding apparatus as explained in the present invention, decodes thebit stream of picture data by the decoding method paired with the codingmethod as shown in the above-mentioned embodiments, so as to generatereproduced moving picture data, and supplies this data to the displayunit ex202 via the LCD control unit ex302, and thus moving picture dataincluded in a moving picture file linked to a Website, for instance, isdisplayed. At the same time, the voice processing unit ex305 convertsthe voice data into analog voice data, and supplies this data to thevoice output unit ex208, and thus voice data included in a movingpicture file linked to a Website, for instance, is reproduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned system, andat least either the moving picture coding apparatus or the movingpicture decoding apparatus in the above-mentioned embodiments can beincorporated into a digital broadcasting system as shown in FIG. 18.Such ground-based or satellite digital broadcasting has been in the newslately. More specifically, a bit stream of video information istransmitted from a broadcast station ex409 to or communicated with abroadcast satellite ex410 via radio waves. Upon receipt of it, thebroadcast satellite ex410 transmits radio waves for broadcasting, a homeantenna ex406 with a satellite broadcast reception function receives theradio waves, and an apparatus such as a television (receiver) ex401 anda set top box (STB) ex407 decodes the bit stream for reproduction. Themoving picture decoding apparatus as shown in the above-mentionedembodiments can be implemented in the reproducing device ex403 forreading the bit stream recorded on a storage medium ex402 such as a CDand DVD and decoding it. In this case, the reproduced video signals aredisplayed on a monitor ex404. It is also conceived to implement themoving picture decoding apparatus in the set top box ex407 connected toa cable ex405 for a cable television or the antenna ex406 for satelliteand/or ground-based broadcasting so as to reproduce the video signals ona monitor ex408 of the television ex401. The moving picture decodingapparatus may be incorporated into the television, not in the set topbox. Or, a car ex412 having an antenna ex411 can receive signals fromthe satellite ex410 or the base station ex107 for reproducing movingpictures on a display apparatus such as a car navigation device ex413 inthe car ex412.

Furthermore, the moving picture coding apparatus as shown in theabove-mentioned embodiments can encode picture signals for recording ona storage medium. As a concrete example, there is a recorder ex420 suchas a DVD recorder for recording picture signals on a DVD disk ex421 anda disk recorder for recording them on a hard disk. They can also berecorded on an SD card (memory card) ex422. If the recorder ex420includes the moving picture decoding apparatus as shown in theabove-mentioned embodiments, the picture signals recorded on the DVDdisk ex421 or the SD card ex422 can be reproduced for display on themonitor ex408.

As the structure of the car navigation device ex413, the structurewithout the camera unit ex203, the camera interface unit ex303 and thepicture coding unit ex312, out of the units as shown in FIG. 17, isconceivable. The same applies to the computer ex111, the television(receiver) ex401 and others.

In addition, three types of implementations can be conceived for aterminal such as the above-mentioned mobile phone ex114; asending/receiving terminal equipped with both an encoder and a decoder,a sending terminal equipped with an encoder only, and a receivingterminal equipped with a decoder only.

As described above, it is possible to apply the moving picture codingmethod or the moving picture decoding method in the above-mentionedembodiments to any of the above apparatuses and systems, and by applyingthis method, the effects described in the above embodiments can beobtained.

From the invention thus described, it will be obvious that theembodiments of the invention may be varied in many ways. Such variationsare not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilledin the art are intended for inclusion within the scope of the followingclaims.

As obvious from the above explanation, according to the motion vectorderivation method of the present invention, multiplication can beperformed instead of division for scaling a reference motion vector, andthus motion vectors can be derived with a smaller amount of calculation.Also, parameters used for scaling the reference motion vector arelimited to a predetermined range of values, and thus data amount of amultiplier parameter table stored in a memory can be reduced. As aresult, since processing load for deriving motion vectors is reduced,even a device with low capability can perform the processing, and thusthe practical value of the present invention is high.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the motion vector derivation method, the movingpicture coding method and the moving picture decoding method accordingto the present invention are useful as methods for coding each pictureconstituting an inputted moving picture to output the result as codedmoving picture data and for decoding this coded moving picture data,using a mobile phone, a DVD apparatus and a personal computer, forexample.

1-19. (canceled)
 20. A transmitting apparatus which transmits a picturedata via a network, said transmitting apparatus comprising: a picturecoding unit operable to code a picture data on a block basis and tooutput coded picture data; an audio data processing unit operable tocode audio data and to output coded audio data; a multiplexing unitoperable to multiplex the coded picture data outputted from said picturecoding unit and the coded audio data outputted from said audio dataprocessing unit; and a transmitting unit operable to transmit themultiplexed data, wherein said picture coding unit includes a blockcoding unit operable to code a block data included in the picture data,and said block coding unit includes: a reference motion vectorobtainment unit operable to obtain a reference motion vector forderiving a motion vector of a current block to be coded; a firstparameter calculation unit operable to calculate a first parametercorresponding to a distance between a picture including the referencemotion vector and a reference picture, which said reference picture isreferred to by the reference motion vector; a second parametercalculation unit operable to calculate a second parameter correspondingto a distance between the current picture and the reference picture,wherein said current picture includes the current block; a judgment unitoperable to judge whether or not the first parameter is within a rangehaving a predetermined maximum value; a motion vector derivation unitoperable to derive the motion vector of the current block by scaling thereference motion vector based on the predetermined maximum value and thesecond parameter, when said judgment unit judges that the firstparameter is not within the range having the predetermined maximumvalue; a motion-compensation unit operable to generate amotion-compensated image of the current block to be coded using themotion vector derived in said motion vector derivation unit; and acoding unit operable to code the current block to be coded using themotion-compensated image.
 21. The transmitting apparatus according toclaim 20, wherein said motion vector derivation unit is further operableto derive the motion vector of the current block by scaling thereference motion vector based on the first parameter and the secondparameter, when said judgment unit judges that the first parameter iswithin the range having the predetermined maximum value.
 22. Atransmitting method of transmitting a picture data via a network, saidtransmitting method comprising: a picture coding step of coding apicture data on a block basis and outputting coded picture data; anaudio data processing step of coding audio data and outputting codedaudio data; a multiplexing step of multiplexing the coded picture dataoutputted in said picture coding step and the coded audio data outputtedin said audio data processing step; and a transmitting step oftransmitting the multiplexed data, wherein said picture coding stepincludes a block coding step of coding a block data included in thepicture data, and said block coding step includes: a reference motionvector obtainment step of obtaining a reference motion vector forderiving a motion vector of a current block to be coded; a firstparameter calculation step of calculating a first parametercorresponding to a distance between a picture including the referencemotion vector and a reference picture, which said reference picture isreferred to by the reference motion vector; a second parametercalculation step of calculating a second parameter corresponding to adistance between the current picture and the reference picture, whereinsaid current picture includes the current block; a judgment step ofjudging whether or not the first parameter is within a range having apredetermined maximum value; a motion vector derivation step of derivingthe motion vector of the current block by scaling the reference motionvector based on the predetermined maximum value and the secondparameter, when said judgment step judges that the first parameter isnot within the range having the predetermined maximum value; amotion-compensation step of generating a motion-compensated image of thecurrent block to be coded using the motion vector derived in said motionvector derivation step; and a coding step of coding the current block tobe coded using the motion-compensated image.
 23. An integrated circuitwhich transmits a picture data via a network, said integrated circuitcomprising: a picture coding unit operable to code a picture data on ablock basis and to output coded picture data; an audio data processingunit operable to code audio data and to output coded audio data; amultiplexing unit operable to multiplex the coded picture data outputtedfrom said picture coding unit and the coded audio data outputted fromsaid audio data processing unit; and a transmitting unit operable totransmit the multiplexed data, wherein said picture coding unit includesa block coding unit operable to code a block data included in thepicture data, and said block coding unit includes: a reference motionvector obtainment unit operable to obtain a reference motion vector forderiving a motion vector of a current block to be coded; a firstparameter calculation unit operable to calculate a first parametercorresponding to a distance between a picture including the referencemotion vector and a reference picture, which said reference picture isreferred to by the reference motion vector; a second parametercalculation unit operable to calculate a second parameter correspondingto a distance between the current picture and the reference picture,wherein said current picture includes the current block; a judgment unitoperable to judge whether or not the first parameter is within a rangehaving a predetermined maximum value; a motion vector derivation unitoperable to derive the motion vector of the current block by scaling thereference motion vector based on the predetermined maximum value and thesecond parameter, when said judgment unit judges that the firstparameter is not within the range having the predetermined maximumvalue; a motion-compensation unit operable to generate amotion-compensated image of the current block to be coded using themotion vector derived in said motion vector derivation unit; and acoding unit operable to code the current block to be coded using themotion-compensated image.